Samsung Gear VR Owners / Interested Persons Thread

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Linuxluver

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#1454208 21-Dec-2015 09:20

OK...

I have both an SGS6 and an SGS6 Edge. ( Got the Edge first.....didn't really like the 'edge' thing and bought a non-Edge version).

I've now tried both in the Gear VR. The Gear VR *seems* to look better with the regular SGS6. In the Edge model there was subtle colour sifts in the pixels toward the edge of the screen.....that don't seem to be there in the non-Edge version of the phone.

Also: Apps!

If you get a chance, install the "Vrse" app. It has some awesome VR videos. I watched the U2 video, the "Evolution of Verse" video and the "Take Flight" video. They were all awesome. Seriously...and for U2 and Take Flight videos, you have to be either standing up or sitting on a swivel chair because you miss out on 75% of the content if you aren't spinning around looking at everything.

I also installed "NextVR". The content is thin.....but the talk by the Oculus guy, Brendan, and Mark Zuckerberg is great. It's like you're sitting right there a the foot of the stage......in 3D, of course.

The "Flickr" app is worth installing. They have a good selection of 360 photos from places all over the world.

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Linuxluver

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#1456403 24-Dec-2015 09:24

OK! My "SteelSeries" gamepad - supposedly compatible with the Samsung Gear VR - just arrived (from Mighty Ape - $139). Perfect timing. I have some shopping to do this morning, but I'll try it out later.

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HotDogBreath

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#1456475 24-Dec-2015 12:28

I jumped on the same bandwagon.

I ordered this bad boy from Amazon with express shipping (took 4 days to arrive, not bad for Christmas).
All up it set me back about $101 NZ with fast shipping.

First impressions is that a game pad (of some discription) should come standard with the Gear VR.
It really does take the experience to the next level, since you don't have your hand stuck on the side of the headset.

The device its self as 2 modes. The first pairs it as a game controler, not for the headset. The second mode is the one that works with the Gear VR. This gives me the impression that all bluetooth gamepads are not created equal. also, the gamepad also doubles as a battery charger. It has a 2200mAh battery built in. Nice added touch.

I'll spend some time with it tomorrow and report back on how functional it is.

Regards.

Linuxluver

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#1456558 24-Dec-2015 15:28

HotDogBreath: I jumped on the same bandwagon.

I ordered this bad boy from Amazon with express shipping (took 4 days to arrive, not bad for Christmas).
All up it set me back about $101 NZ with fast shipping.

First impressions is that a game pad (of some discription) should come standard with the Gear VR.
It really does take the experience to the next level, since you don't have your hand stuck on the side of the headset.

The device its self as 2 modes. The first pairs it as a game controler, not for the headset. The second mode is the one that works with the Gear VR. This gives me the impression that all bluetooth gamepads are not created equal. also, the gamepad also doubles as a battery charger. It has a 2200mAh battery built in. Nice added touch.

I'll spend some time with it tomorrow and report back on how functional it is.

Regards.

Looks good!

I just installed and played "EVE: Gunjack"

I'm not really a gamepad warrior at all. What gaming I have done is mainly on the PC with a mouse and keyboard. It took me a while to work out how to reload by swiping on the "control surface". I think - couldn't see - it's the Y (or X?) of the four button on the right side of the gamepad. I got killed a few times before I got that far. :-)

It's pretty cool.

I'm a bit inhibited about using the Gear VR. I just can't bring myself to put it on if there is someone else in the house. It seems rude to exclude them. At least with a screen you can look away. With a VR headset you can turn your head, but you're still in the 'other' world.

:-)

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HotDogBreath

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#1456571 24-Dec-2015 15:34

Time for a Gear VR party game then.

Download 'Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes'.

In a nutshell, 1 person wears the headset. They are the bomb defuser. They are in a room with the bomb.
Everyone else uses the Bomb Defusal Manual (free to download) to talk the defuser through the process.

Requires good communication skills and team work. Everyone who has tried it from my end has had a 'blast'.

cokeman2

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#1458338 29-Dec-2015 05:43

jumped on the bandwagon they are 169 at noel leemings at the moment .cheapest around i think

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cokeman2

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#1459278 30-Dec-2015 21:14

Might be a stuip question but how do you get google cardboard to work with the VR .
only way I see is to buy the package disabler??? According to sum forum's

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Linuxluver

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#1459963 1-Jan-2016 19:54

** MilkVR **

If you want to play a VR video you've obtained indpendently of the Samsung Gear VR eco-system, you'll have to install the "Milk VR" player. It's a Samsung app.

This player is in the Oculus Store provided you have a US IP address. Without one, you can't see the app or install it.

If you already have a VPN service, then connect to that and access the Oculus Store on your phone through the VPN.

I didn't have a VPN set up, so I did the following:

1. Go to Google Play and install "Hola". It's a VPN app. The free version might work.....but I'd moved on to Hola Premium (7-day free trial) before I had properly worked out how to use the app.

2. Once Hola is installed and you've turned on the app unblocker (Check in the Settings for each tab - web / apps / whatever) and connected to the VPN, you then run the Oculus Store app through Hola (under "My Apps" on the Apps tab) and NOT just from the app drawer on your phone.

3. If you have run the app properly through Hola, you will see Milk VR in the Oculus Store and you can install it.

4. Once it is installed, you don't need the VPN any more......at least until the next time you need to install the app.

NOTE: If Milk VR requires an update at some point - a week, a month, whatever - and you aren't on the VPN, there is a good chance the app will just disappear and you will have to reconnect the VPN and download from the Oculus Store again.

5. Any VR videos you download need to be placed into a "\MilkVR" folder on the root of the sdcard. Create it if it isn't there. I had to.

Having done this, I can download a VR video from anywhere and it appears on the MilkVR player and I can play it.

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Linuxluver

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#1459967 1-Jan-2016 20:07

cokeman2: Might be a stuip question but how do you get google cardboard to work with the VR .
only way I see is to buy the package disabler??? According to sum forum's

I've found I don't need to use the Google Cardboard function for anything as the Gear VR has it's own way of doing the same things.

VR Images / Photospheres: Use Oculus 360 Photo ("On Device")
VR Videos you've downloaded: "MilkVR" - see my spearate post on MilkVR.

The "VR Gallery" doesn't appear to be aware of 360 / VR at all.

You can play VR YouTube videos, too, via the Samsung Internet VR browser. There are a few steps......

1. Open the VR browser you've installed from the Store (for free) and go to YouTube.

2. Search / locate the video you want in YouTube.

3. In the player controls, make it fullscreen (lower right corner when you hover / click on the control area in the YT player).

4. Once in fullscreen....nothing happens (probably)....so you muct touch the control pad once to get the player controls up on screen.

5. Click on "360" at lower centre-left and then click on the play button.

You should then be able to watch the video in full VR.

What else do you need Google Cardboard for?

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cokeman2

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#1459969 1-Jan-2016 20:11

Thanks for the reply. ....I just was curious what was on the Google cardboardI heard there was a lot of content ,that's bout it to be honest

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Linuxluver

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#1459974 1-Jan-2016 20:18

cokeman2: Thanks for the reply. ....I just was curious what was on the Google cardboardI heard there was a lot of content ,that's bout it to be honest

As far as I know, Google Cardboard is a just a paper holder for your phone so that it's far enough away you can focus on the two images - left and right - and get some sense of what VR is like. A very rough sense.

The Gear VR is a big step up from a paper phone holder.....but it does much the same thing (just better).

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Linuxluver

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#1464767 6-Jan-2016 23:11

If you want to use Google Cardboard App with the Samsung Gear VR, you can install an app called "Package Disabler Pro" from the Play store. It costs a couple of dollars.

This app allows you to disable system apps and services WITHOUT needing to root your phone. So you use the app to turn off the Gear VR service that fires up the Oculus Store.....and just use the Cardboard apps / functions instead via your phone.

To resume using the Oculus Store, just untick the disable Gear VR service to re-enable it.

I looked into this because Google have a Cardboard Camera app for Android that simulates a VR / 3D scene from a photo you take with it.

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Linuxluver

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#1468610 12-Jan-2016 17:14

If your GearVR is steaming up on you, try storing it in a place that's warm (like 20C or 25C). Not hot.

I've noticed if I leave it in a cool room overnight and then put it on, I am warmer than it is....by a wide margin....so I get some fogging. But after wearing it for a few minutes, the headset warms up and the steaming stops.

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HotDogBreath

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#1468808 12-Jan-2016 23:00

After some extensive testing (it's a tough job but someone has to do it lol) I have to throw my 2 cents worth in. You really need a game pad to get the full experience out of this device. Not all games/apps support them but the ones that do increase the enjoyment level drastically. In saying that I'll give a quick run down on one of the best games I've played in a long time.

Darknet 9/10

This is a geeks wet dream of a game having a wet dream.
In a nut shell, you have a first persons view of hacking computer nodes. It's a mathematical/geometrical driven game which I assume will appeal big chunk of geekzone members. The concept its self in nothing to write home about but when your in a virtual environment your only desire seems to find bigger corporate/government targets to hack to earn those Bit Coins. The game scales in difficulty the better you get just to keep you on your toes. I'm at a level now where I can have a 'data view' of the nodes I'm attacking which basically means I have a Matrix (Green ASCII rain) view but in this case it all has meaning and not just random eye candy. The learning curve on this language is very tough (to me anyway) and Google isn't spilling the beans on it. It seams that those that have mastered it are keeping mom.
So, if you have the VR Gear and a game controller, it's worth a few dollars and several hours of your life.

Regards.

Linuxluver

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#1470171 13-Jan-2016 16:53

HotDogBreath: After some extensive testing (it's a tough job but someone has to do it lol) I have to throw my 2 cents worth in. You really need a game pad to get the full experience out of this device. Not all games/apps support them but the ones that do increase the enjoyment level drastically. In saying that I'll give a quick run down on one of the best games I've played in a long time.

Darknet 9/10

This is a geeks wet dream of a game having a wet dream.
In a nut shell, you have a first persons view of hacking computer nodes. It's a mathematical/geometrical driven game which I assume will appeal big chunk of geekzone members. The concept its self in nothing to write home about but when your in a virtual environment your only desire seems to find bigger corporate/government targets to hack to earn those Bit Coins. The game scales in difficulty the better you get just to keep you on your toes. I'm at a level now where I can have a 'data view' of the nodes I'm attacking which basically means I have a Matrix (Green ASCII rain) view but in this case it all has meaning and not just random eye candy. The learning curve on this language is very tough (to me anyway) and Google isn't spilling the beans on it. It seams that those that have mastered it are keeping mom.
So, if you have the VR Gear and a game controller, it's worth a few dollars and several hours of your life.

Regards.

Thanks.

I'll check it out. :-)

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